Atkinson in Irish Battle
2/02/2009
Australian World Rally Driver, Chris Atkinson, has made an outstanding start to his 2009 season with the Queenslander in fifth position after day two of the season opener in Ireland and, despite appalling weather conditions, he is well placed to move up into fourth place on the final day (1 February 2009). “We set two third-quickest times this morning,” said Atkinson in the middle of day two of the three day event. “The more we drive, the better feeling I have with the car, and I can tell that we’re also going quicker and quicker. I’m not at the limit yet. We’re just taking it step by step.” Having already impressed in the morning in wet conditions so bad they were using snow tyres, Chris Atkinson continued to make rapid progress on the second loop of stages in the afternoon, still run under wet conditions. The Australian was never slower than fourth-quickest, with notably a second-fastest time in the 25-kilometre Ballinamallard test. “I’m feeling good with the Citroen C4 WRC,” he said. “We’re not taking stupid risks and we’re just keeping up a sensible pace. The car feels very well-balanced and I’m not really playing with the set-up at all. For the moment, I’m just trying to learn the C4 WRC. I think you need to be at full confidence with it in order to look for those last few seconds. Even though we’re just going to stick at our pace, our goal on the final day will be to overtake Henning Solberg in the overall classification.”
In his debut for the Citroën Junior team, Atkinson has put in the best performance and impressed his new boss. “My biggest satisfaction tonight comes from the performance of Chris Atkinson,” said Citroen Junior Team Manager Benoit Nogier. “He faced big pressure yesterday, but like the true professional that he is, he just relaxed and came back stronger today. The times subsequently came and fourth place is now well within his reach.”
Classification at the end of day two, 2009 Rally of Ireland
1. Loeb/Elena Citroën C4 2h12’32’’7
2. Sordo/Marti Citroën C4 +1’09’’1
3. Hirvonen/Lehtinen Ford Focus +2’30’’9
4. Solberg/Menkerud Ford Focus +5’57’’4
5. Atkinson/Prévot Citroën C4 +6’02’’1
6. Ogier/Ingrassia Citroën C4 +9’13’’4
7. Wilson/Martin Ford Focus +9’51’’3
8. Al Qassimi/Orr Ford Focus +11’50’’0
9. Boland/Morrissey Subaru Impreza +12’40’’4
10. MacHale/Duffy Ford Focus +13’40’’4
